Electrochemical behavior of CoCrMo implant in Ringer's solution

Abstract

CoCrMo has been successfully employed as an orthopedic and orthodontic material because of its excellent corrosion resistant and suitable biocompatibility. The purpose of this research was to investigate the susceptibility of CoCrMo in Ringer's solution at three different temperatures: 22 °C, 37 °C, and 60 °C. The corrosion behavior of CoCrMo was carried out by using common electrochemical methods such as open circuit potential, potentiodynamic measurement, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and Mott–Schottky measurements. CoCrMo was passivated by the air, forming a passive film, which was not destroyed during the immersion in electrolytes under different temperatures. Results from potentiodynamic tests showed that at high anodic potentials, the passive film did not demonstrate significant localized corrosion and rather exhibited overall passive film degradation corresponding to the general corrosion of the alloy in Ringer's solution at the three temperatures. EIS measurements showed the presence of the stable passive film on the alloy surface when tested at open circuit potential. Mott–Schottky test indicated that the preformed passive film is an n‐type semiconductor due to the presence of a donor species. This is implied by the existence of oxygen vacancies and interstitial metallic cations. As the potential increased, the Cr3+ oxidized and produced soluble Cr4+ species. This resulted in the film changing to a p‐type semiconductor owing to the dissolution and creation of cation vacancies (acceptor species). The passive film rupture was not due to p‐type characteristics but rather was a result of the considerable oxidative dissolution of the film at high anodic potential. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.